Montana Hearts
by xoloveJBox
Summary: "Well," Hayley sighed "You can take the girl out of Montana, but you can't take Montana out of the girl." Tori never knew her father, but she didn't mind. She liked the way things were. But then her world flips, and she has to learn to live with brothers who didn't know she existed until a few months before. Tori doesn't think she can do it, but can her brothers prove her wrong?
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Hey there!**_

_**Ok, so this is my second OTH sisfic, but this character is totally different from my first one (Cassie, in 'The Glue that Binds). I know the summary completely sucks and I'm sorry haha hopefully the story won't be as bad. **_

_**Disclaimer: Anything you recognise isn't mine :)**_

_**This chapter is kind of short, and it's kind of introductory (I know what you're thinking, well duh, it's the first chapter, but bear with me haha). I promise Nathan and Lucas will be in the next chapter. I actually intended for them to be in this one, but it kind of felt finished here, so, you know lol :D **_

_**Please R+R! I love reading reviews! I find them so helpful in knowing how people like the story, and I fully believe that the feedback helps me to develop my writing. If you'd rather not leave a review, PM me instead! I really don't mind :D I'll even happily take criticism, as long as it's constructive, and ideas/suggestions are always more than welcomed!**_

_**Well, I'm going to shut up now and let you get on with it lol**_

_**Thanks,**_

_**xoloveJBox**_

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**Chapter One.**

"You ready Kiddo?" Joanna Hart asked her sixteen year old daughter Tori.

"As I'll ever be." Tori sighed, climbing in behind the wheel of her beloved, though more than slightly battered red truck. Zach strode to the passenger side window as Joanna closed her door, and he looked sternly at two of the most important people in his life.

"I want to know the minute you get there." He told them seriously, and Tori rolled her eyes. It wasn't the first time she'd heard that instruction.

"Yes Uncle Zach." She chimed in a sickly sweet voice, with a slightly biting sarcastic undertone.

"Actually," Zach added quickly "I was you to call me when you stop to sleep tonight."

"Got it Zach." Joanna replied, matching her daughter's tone.

Zach diverted his gaze back to Tori "Look after your mom, ok?"

"I always do." Tori laughed "Jeez, we'll never get there if you don't let go of my truck."  
"Alright, alright," Zach snapped playfully "Drive safe."

Joanna and Tori waved as they pulled out of the ranch. The sun was barely rising above Montana, but they'd decided to get an early start on their trip. As they drove past, Tori could see some of the horses being let out of their stables, and they cows were lazily grazing already. Despite how much Tori complained about the chores she had to do around the ranch, she couldn't help but think that she would miss them in the week she and her mother were going to be away.

For about an hour, the two sat in companionable silence, listening to the soft thrum of the radio filtering from the speakers.

"I still don't understand why we're even going." Tori announced when they finally hit the highway.

"We've been over this Tori-Jayne." Her mother sighed.

Tori chose to ignore the use of her full first name and continued "I don't get it though. You hated Tree Hill."

"No, I hated certain people there," Joanna corrected "It's different now."

"What if it isn't, mom?" Tori asked irritably "What if they're just like him? What then?"

"Nathan won't be. I know it." Joanna assured her confidently, though Tori clearly wasn't convinced

"You haven't seen him since he was six Mom. You don't know what he's like now." Tori argued "And what about the other one, huh?"

"You know his name Tori-Jayne. And you've read his book just the same as I have. You know that he grew up away from Dan, so there was no way he could get his claws into Lucas."

"And what if they're not interested in me Mom. What if they don't care?" Though her eyes remained firmly on the road in front of her, Tori's eyebrows were raised expectantly, but Joanna had already thought about that.

"Then you can just stay in Montana with Zach and Tess." She replied simply.

"If that's an option, why are we doing this in the first place?" Tori exclaimed incredulously.

"Because you'll need to be with your family Tori." Joanna replied casually, though her outward appearance was the polar opposite of her internal emotions.

"They don't even know I exist!" Tori yelled, her knuckles turning white as she clasped the wheel tightly.

"Well regardless of anything, they damn well need to." Joanna snapped back, feeling her hold on her temper loosen slightly. "I need to know that you're going to be ok when I-"

Tori cut her off sharply "We are totally _not_ having this conversation right now."

"Fine." Joanna sang, reaching down to the bag at her feet and pulling out a book "But we need to have it eventually."

Tori gave a quick glance across at what her mother was reading and groaned loudly.

"You've got to be kidding me." She muttered after seeing the dog-eared copy of 'An unkindness of Ravens' that between them had been read countless times.

Joanna snickered and started to read.

"You mind if we stop soon?" Tori asked a few hours later "I need to stretch my legs."

Joanna looked over and smiled "Whatever you want my angel."

Tori nodded and kept driving. Joanna went to turn back to the book, which she had almost finished again, but instead looked at her daughter for a while. She saw the long, dark curls that were currently captured in a loose bun, with some strands escaping and cascading down her face. Engrossed in the task of driving, Tori didn't notice that her mother was watching her as she blew her thick, sideways falling fringe from her eyes. Eyes that, Joanna knew that if Tori were looking at her would be wide, bright, and dazzlingly emerald. Eyes that, if Joanna remembered correctly, Tori shared with Nathan. Curled up behind the steering wheel, it was hard to tell that Tori was long and gangly, though she wasn't inelegant with it. Despite the fact that she was slim, Joanna knew that her daughter was far from fragile; she was strong for her age and size, and she could happily hold her own and keep up with the grown men that worked on the ranch. Lord knows that she could defend herself, and would, a little _too_ readily. Tori's skin was always lightly tanned from long days outside on the ranch, though she always made sure to do her homework too. Joanna couldn't remember the last time Tori had come home with less than a B in anything. Even now, when they were going away for a week to North Carolina, Tori had put in extra hours of school work to do the week's work ahead of time, so that she wouldn't be behind when she returned. It pleased Joanna to know that her daughter had the brains, motivation and dedication to do whatever she wanted with her life.

How can I leave her? Joanna thought bitterly. How can I leave this beautiful creature that I created, somehow making her perfect, despite all my own flaws?

"What are you looking at?" Tori asked, dragging Joanna from her thoughts.

"You." She answered without even hesitating.

Tori gave an amused grin "Why?"

"'Cause you're beautiful, you know that?"

Joanna laughed when Tori's cheeks blushed sheepishly "Mom." She whined self-consciously.

"I'm serious." Joanna chuckled at her daughter's reaction "One day, you're going to blow the whole world away."

Tori sighed and rolled her eyes dramatically, but Joanna could see Tori's cheeks glowing from the sudden compliment.

They stopped for the night a few hours later, as the sky was bleeding red, already a little more than half way to their destination. Joanna predicted that if they got an early enough start, they would arrive in Tree Hill around noon the next day, but she decided to wait until the morning to call Nathan again and tell him that. It had taken her a little while to get Nathan's number after so many years away from the small town she had once called home, but eventually she'd gotten it and she's set her little plan in motion, calling Nathan and asking if it would be ok if she and her teenage daughter could visit him. Nathan had been surprised, but had agreed all the same, seeming pleased at the chance to see her again. Joanna had thought about telling him everything on the phone right there and then, but she had stopped herself, thinking that it was a conversation best left for face-to-face.

Tori and Joanna checked into the first motel they found, dumped all of their things in the room before wondering off in search of a diner. While they were walking, Tori had called Zach to let him know that they had stopped, so that he and Tess, the grandmotherly housekeeper that cooked and cleaned for everyone at the ranch, could stop worrying about them.

They ate quickly before returning to their room, each one of them too tired to do more than shower and clamber into bed. Tori fell asleep pretty much as soon as her head hit the pillow, exhausted after a whole day of almost solid driving, but Joanna didn't succumb to slumber quite so easily. She lay on her lumpy mattress, thoughts swirling around mercilessly in her head, and she knew that the next day was going to be a long one.

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_**A/N 2: Tadaaaa! If you're reading this, it probably (hopefully) means that you read all of the first chapter! SO thank you soooo much!  
Again, let me know what you think **_

_**xxx**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Howdy :)**_

_**Ok, so usually, updates won't be this frequent, but I wrote this yesterday and kind of liked it, so I thought I'd put it up :) **_

_**As I was reminded by the lovely sweetkiwi604, I didn't specify when this was. So, it's set between season 4 and 5, and it's BEFORE Nathan's accident. **_

_**Disclaimer: Nope, still not mine :( lol**_

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**Chapter Two**

It was almost twelve when Lucas Scott knocked on his brother's front door. He didn't even really understand why the woman visiting Nathan had asked to see him too, since as far as he could remember, he'd never met her. But he'd thought, hey, what harm could it do?

"Hey," Nathan greeted when he opened the door a second later.

"Hey," Lucas replied, stepping through the doorway "I guess they're not here yet?"

"No, but Joanna called me a few minutes ago, and they're about thirty minutes out."

"And, who are they again?" Lucas asked, his eyebrows raised expectantly.

"I told you Luke," Nathan replied, rolling his eyes slightly "Joanna was my nanny when I was six, and she's bringing her daughter."

Lucas sighed "And I'm here because...?"

"Honestly, I don't really know either." Nathan laughed "But don't forget, she probably knew _of _you, even if you never actually met. Trust me," he added "Joanna's one of the nicest people on the planet. You'll like her, I promise."

For about twenty-five minutes, the two brothers chatted casually, and when they heard car doors closing, Nathan went and peered out of the window.

"They're here." He announced to his brother, going over to the front door and pulling it open as a woman approached.

"Nathan," Joanna cooed affectionately, pulling Nathan into a tight hug "My, my, didn't you grow up handsome."

Nathan laughed at the compliment and looked over Joanna's shoulder at the teenage girl standing awkwardly behind them. She had her hands tucked into the pockets of her leather jacket, and she let her hair fall over her face almost like a veil.

"Nathan Scott, this is my daughter, Tori." Joanna introduced lovingly, noticing his glance and pulling Tori forwards.

"It's nice to meet you." Nathan told her, holding out her hand, which Tori reciprocated with a small smile but no words.

"She's a bit tired," Joanna dismissed casually "She's been driving for two days."

Nathan let them in and led them into the living room, where Lucas greeted them both with handshakes. Joanna stood and looked at the two of them for a minute with her hands on her hips.

"Well, who'd have thought that Dan Scott could make such gorgeous children?" She commented cheerfully, and Tori scowled slightly at her mother's subtle nuance. Nathan beaconed them to take a seat, and Tori perched a little uncomfortably on the edge of the couch, feeling her heart beating in her throat. Her head snapped up, surprised, when Nathan started talking to her.

"You know, Tori, your mom was the best nanny I ever had."  
"She's pretty awesome, I guess." Tori joked feebly, barely above a whisper, finding it hard to push past her nerves over where she was and what they were doing.

"I never did know why you left." Nathan continued casually, turning back to Joanna.

"I got pregnant with this one." Joanna replied, jerking her thumb at Tori. Tori found it hard to believe that her mother seemed so at ease, when she herself couldn't remember feeling worse. Her head was pounding, her chest ached, her palms were sweating, she felt like the walls were closing in her around her, suffocating her, and she felt her whole body trembling nervously. Catching Joanna, Nathan and Lucas completely off-guard, she shot up and hurried out the door, mumbling apologies as she left. Feeling immediately better once she was outside, she climbed into the bed of her truck, hugging her knees to her chest, not even caring about the dirt she was getting on her jeans. Feeling embarrassed and more than a little bit pathetic, she felt tears rolling down her face.

They were still falling half an hour later when Lucas and Nathan emerged from the house, but she wiped them away roughly with her sleeve.

"Mind if we join you?" Lucas asked gently when they got to the truck, and Tori sniffled.

"Knock yourselves out." She replied, crawling over to the end of the bed and opening it for them to get in with her. She sat silently as they made themselves as comfortable as was possible in a dirty old truck, but she couldn't bring herself to look at them.

"So," Nathan sighed "You're Dan Scott's kid too, huh?"

"I guess so, yeah." Tori answered with a slightly bitter laugh as the world started to flood again.

"Well," Lucas chuckled heartily "Commiserations."

"How does this not freak you guys out?" She exclaimed incredulously as silent drops dribbled down her cheeks again.

Nathan scoffed "Knocking up the nanny? It's a bit clichéd, but it has Dan Scott written all over it."

"It doesn't really surprise us." Lucas added lightly. Tori raked a hand through her hair and let out a long breath. At least part of it was done now, she thought, even if it wasn't the hardest part. She looked up when she noticed movement out the corner of her eye, and saw her mother walking towards them.

"Well Kiddo," Joanna sighed when she got next to them, wiping away a stray tear that remained on Tori's face "Considering you didn't want them to know, you made it kind of hard not to tell them."

"I'm sorry Mom." She whimpered slightly, shooting her mother a weak, watery smile.

"It's ok my angel." Joanna cooed, reaching up to plant a kiss on her daughter's cheek.

"Tori, listen," Nathan started "I've invited you and your mom back here for dinner tonight, and you can meet my wife and son, but I don't want you to think that you have to come, even if your mom does, ok?"

Tori nodded firmly, suddenly feeling exhausted, and she scrubbed a hand over her face.

"We know this is gonna be tough," Lucas continued gently "But we'll deal with it, all three of us, ok?" Tori found it hard to talk around the lump in her throat, so she nodded again. She was honestly relieved, for them to be so outwardly understanding, though she had to wonder if they were the same inside.

"Right Lady," Joanna announced definitively "We could both use a nap, and I'm sure Nathan and Lucas have a lot to discuss right now, so how about we head out, huh?"

Tori stood up, brushed herself off and hopped effortlessly over the side of the truck in less than half the time it took Nathan and Lucas to clamber down.

Lucas gave her shoulder a quick, encouraging squeeze. "We'll maybe see you tonight, ok?"

Tori gave a slightly smile and got in behind the wheel. Nathan and Lucas waited out in the front yard and waved as Tori and Joanna pulled away, heading back to their hotel room. When they were completely out of ear shot, Lucas turned to his brother and sighed.

"Well, that was...interesting."

"Are you sure you won't come?" Joanna queried for the umpteenth time as she grabbed her coat, ready to leave. Tori was lounging on the couch, flipping idly through TV channels, determined that she wasn't going to change her mind. She thought she'd had quite enough excitement for one day.

"I'm sure Mom." Tori replied monotonously, barely lifting her eyes from the screen, because she knew that if she did, if she saw the look on her mother's face, she'd cave.

Joanna sighed and shook her head "Fine. You know where I'll be. I won't be out late, ok?"

Tori nodded and waited a few seconds after her mother was gone to just switch the TV off altogether. She sat up and grabbed one of the magazines she had bought, leafing through it for a few minutes before that got boring too. She didn't even bother reaching for the only book she and her mother had bought- 'An Unkindness of Ravens'- so she put the TV back on. Still nothing. She wanted to go with her mother. She really did. But she knew that she wouldn't be able to sit and pretend that everything was fine and ok and normal, when it was about as far from it as it could get. Tori stood up and wondered to the fridge, peering inside and pulling out a can of soda. She cracked it open and took a long sip, but she didn't really want that either. It was eerily quiet inside the hotel room, so she started humming to herself, but after just a few seconds, she started to annoy herself so stopped. She stepped into the bedroom, and on the bed was the outfit her mother had picked out for her to wear to Nathan's. She stared at it for a second, and groaned dejectedly, hurried tearing off her jeans and replacing them with the more presentable ones on the bed. She knew her mom had done that on purpose, but she didn't have time to worry about it. She quickly pulled on the clean shirt and slipped back into her boots, grabbing her jacket, keys, phone and purse as she left the motel room. She thought about calling her mom, to let her know that she was coming, but decided against it. Instead she hurried out of the lobby and out to the parking lot, fumbling with her keys and getting into the truck.

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_**A/N 2: Right, so I know that it's a little unrealistic that Nathan and Lucas were so cool about just finding out they have a little sister, but I don't want to hang around too long on the introductory stuff, so yeah...bear with me haha**_

_**Also, I know I made Tori sound like a bit of a wuss with the way she reacted, but come on? Meeting her brothers for the first time? As well as being tired from a lot of driving (also, I know it takes longer than that to get from Montana to NC in a car, but I didn't want to spend too much time on that either)? Plus, there's a reason they are going to see Nathan and Lucas in the first place, that Tori isn't exactly happy about? I think we can cut her some slack. ^.^ I promise she's not usually that wimpy :D**_

_**But other than that, what did people think? Is it worth carrying on with so far?**_

_**Please, R+R! and let me know :)**_

_**Thanks again,**_

_**xoloveJBox**_


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